#lavender scare

[alanshemper]

“If you want to be against McCarthy, boys, you’ve got to be either a Communist or a cocksucker.”

—Sen. Joe McCarthy, helpfully explaining how the red scare and the lavender scare intersected with each other

[disease]

How LGBT Civil Servants Became Public Enemy No. 1 in the 1950s

Denounced, questioned, pressured to resign and even fired, LGBT people were once rooted out of the State Department in what was known as the Lavender Scare.

[victusinveritas]

From Atlas Obscura: For many women of the 1950s and 1960s, these slim paperbacks were pivotal, offering a sense of relief. These books, of course, were lesbian pulp fiction, throwing out a lifeline of a suggestion to these women that they were, perhaps, not entirely alone in the world. https://bit.ly/3zJ2Uzt

Publishers likely never intended any of these books to tumble into the hands of impressionable young women, and certainly not those about lesbian love. But pulp fiction books were cheap and disposable; the most successful among them sold in the hundreds of thousands or even the millions, with many of them being lesbian pulps. Tereska Torrès’ 1950 novel, “Women’s Barracks,” is often cited as the first example in the genre. It was the 244th best-selling novel in the United States before 1975, despite being banned for obscenity in multiple states.

While some novels may have been written as voyeuristic pieces of literature, there were also those that changed women’s lives, and in so doing, passed the test of time. These were the books that reached women who were isolated, offering them a lifeline and a promise that they were not alone in the world.

[eepylesbean]

ALL MY STUCKY BITCHES

IF U HAVE HULU OR SHOWTIME WATCH THE NEW SHOW "FELLOW TRAVELERS" RIGHT NEOWWW!!!

ITS THEM IN A DIFFERENT FONT I SWEAR TO YOU!!!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

The federal government is poised to apologize for decades of intolerance toward the LGBTQ+ community. U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, and Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin who is the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to the Senate, have introduced a resolution on Tuesday that seeks to formally apologize for the historical discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ people in the federal workforce. The resolution, introduced during Pride Month, acknowledges the mistreatment and wrongful terminations of LGBTQ+ civil servants, foreign service officers, and service members, dating back to 1949.

“LGBT civil servants, foreign service officers, and service members have made countless sacrifices and contributions to our country and national security. Despite this, our government has subjected them to decades of harassment, invasive investigations, and wrongful termination because of who they are or who they love,” Kaine said in a press release. “This Pride Month, I’m proud to lead this resolution alongside Senator Baldwin to reaffirm our commitment to righting our past wrongs and fighting for equality for all LGBT Americans.”

A dark chapter in history

The resolution highlights the Lavender Scare, a period from the early 1940s through the 1960s during which queer federal employees were targeted and persecuted. This era, marked by heightened suspicion and discrimination, saw thousands of federal workers lose their jobs due to their sexual orientation. The most recent wave of such discrimination was perpetuated by the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which was in effect from 1994 to 2011 and led to the discharge of more than 100,000 LGBTQ+ military service members.

The resolution acknowledges the extensive harm caused by these discriminatory policies, stating, “the Federal Government discriminated against and terminated hundreds of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who served the United States in the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, and the Federal civil service for decades, causing untold harm to those individuals professionally, financially, socially, and medically, among other harms.”

[...]

Support and future steps

The resolution is co-sponsored by a host of prominent Democratic senators, including Chris Coons of Delaware, Jeff Merkley from Oregon, Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, Patty Murray from Washington, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire, Bob Casey from Pennsylvania, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Massachusetts’s Edward Markey, Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Colorado’s Michael Bennet, Ron Wyden from Oregon, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Virginia’s Mark R. Warner.

What happens next?

The Senate will now review the resolution. If it gains sufficient support, it will proceed to a vote. If passed, it will serve as a formal acknowledgment and apology for the historical injustices faced by LGBTQ+ federal employees.

Tim Kaine and Tammy Baldwin, a pair of Democratic Senators, introduced a resolution seeking a formal apology for decades of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the federal government, especially during the Lavender Scare era.

[clemminty]

Just Focus On Me is a coming-of-age queer story set in 1956 Los Angeles, primarily told through the journals of Victoria Payne and Jane Myers. Jane, a pastor's daughter, and Victoria, a girl from New York who faced bullying after her crush outed her as a lesbian, navigate their feelings for each other against a backdrop of societal expectations and personal insecurities.

The narrative delves into themes of self-discovery, acceptance, and the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals during this era. Supporting characters like Troy, Priscilla, Dante, and Lynn add depth to the story, each bringing their unique perspectives and struggles. Together, they form a tight-knit group that supports one another as they explore their identities, confront prejudices, and seek connection in a world that often feels unwelcoming.

Amidst moments of humor and lightheartedness, the characters face deeper emotional conflicts, particularly regarding their relationships and societal pressures. As they bond over shared interests and experiences, they learn to embrace their true selves and find strength in their friendships. Ultimately, the story highlights the importance of love, acceptance, and community in the journey of self-discovery.

If you enjoy Banana Fish, Nana, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Fellow Travelers, or Heartstopper, I encourage you to check out my book, as it was inspired by those series!

It's currently available on Wattpad and Webnovel. If you have any suggestions for other writing platforms where I could publish it, please let me know. Thank you! 😽 (Alice Oseman, I love your work!!! ❤️ )

[commiepinkofag]

Liquor and Cannabis Board Pauses Enforcement of Lewd Conduct Regulations

After raiding four gay bars last week and finding nothing but a nipple and jockstraps, the Liquor and Cannabis Board has paused enforcement of its lewd conduct rules, according to a signed letter sent to state officials. The Board also paused participation in Seattle’s Joint Enforcement Team, a coalition of police, fire, and other city departments, and will reopen rule-making to amend or repeal the lewd conduct violation regulations. The Board also said it won’t issue citations for anything they saw over the weekend—including a bartender’s exposed nipple at The Cuff Complex and jockstraps seen at The Seattle Eagle—and it will review its past practices and policies, including the use of photographs as evidence.

[mafaldaknows]

Plus ça change, plus ç’est la même chose 🫤

[piscesthepoet]

lavender

[aclaywrites]

Now you can watch a whole documentary about this miserable faggot and all the lives he ruined.

Fellow Travelers is a great jumping off place to learn about this aspect of US gay history. Learn from the past so that we aren’t doomed to repeat it!

[the-river-rix]

And if I make a collection of lavender scare references (or what I count as them) in saf

[barcstravis]

if you like spies are forever, richard siken poetry, or just generally queer history/stories, you’re gonna LOVE “lavender scare”, a new limited series actual play podcast that i’m producing. our team is almost entirely trans, is entirely queer, and we’re all pretty new to the field. it uses bully pulpit’s game “fiasco”, as well as my own game “conflict of interest”. i’ve been working on this since february and i cannot wait to see how people like it. if you have a moment, give our trailer a listen and drop us a follow on spotify!

[toxicradio]

Trying to prove something. What generation are you and do you know what the red scare/McCarthy era was?

[springbreak-ibelieveinyou]

i’m halfway through fellow travelers and my heart is breaking

i have to go to sleep cause it’s 4 am and i have class tomorrow but i will absolutely be finishing this show tomorrow

i don’t know how i feel about hawk rn i’m so conflicted

[gwydionmisha]

CW: Rape, Pedophilia

[justinspoliticalcorner]

John Knefel at MMFA:

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and others in MAGA media have recently praised disgraced Sen. Joe McCarthy and his blacklists, a tactic that Project 2025 partner organization the American Accountability Foundation is attempting to bring to the White House should Donald Trump win in November. According to The Associated Press, AAF is planning to create and publicly post a list of “100 names of government workers to a website this summer to show a potential new administration who might be … ripe for scrutiny, reclassifications, reassignments or firings,” with a focus on “those in senior executive positions who could put up roadblocks to Trump’s plans for tighter borders and more deportations.”

The plan is reportedly underwritten by a $100,000 grant from conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation as part of Project 2025, its far-reaching and extreme effort to provide policy and personnel recommendations for a potential second Trump administration. One of Project 2025’s top priorities is the implementation of “Schedule F,” a scheme to remove job protections from federal workers by reclassifying career staffers as political appointees — a direct attack on federal unions that could be used to fire civil servants deemed insufficiently pro-Trump. AAF is one of more than 100 conservative organizations on Project 2025’s advisory board, and its initiative — synergistically dubbed Project Sovereignty 2025 — is the latest broadside against the 2.2 million people who work for the federal government. The AP article notes that the group’s list of what Heritage referred to as “anti-American bad actors” echoes the blacklist era of McCarthy, the disgraced anti-communist crusader whose name became synonymous with one of the most repressive periods in U.S. history.

[...] Project 2025’s Schedule F and AAF’s proposed blacklist are clear, direct descendants of the literal McCarthyism that MAGA media figures are so quick to praise. The McCarthy era saw massive purges of left-wing federal employees as part of the Cold War’s rightward shift in national politics, halting the potential for American social democracy and helping to plant the seeds for the neoliberal turn of the 1970s and the ensuing rise in inequality that accompanied it. McCarthy and fellow anti-communists like FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover also directed their oppressive tactics toward gay people — and those suspected or accused of being gay — who worked for the federal government during a period known as the Lavender Scare. McCarthy “directly linked homosexuality and Communism,” depicting gay people working in government as a national security threat. Historians estimate that between 5,000 and 10,000 federal workers were forced to resign during this period, often behind closed doors for fear of their gay identity — real or perceived — becoming public.

American Accountability Foundation, a Project 2025 partner, will enact a McCarthyist purge of the civil services if Donald Trump wins election again.